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Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Organization-less

We've been back at the boat about a week now. Found a couple systems that will need repair before we leave, but the biggest problem we seem to be having at the moment is getting the boat organized. For some reason we are really struggling with getting things in reasonable places.

We've been slowly getting stuff moved from the Prius to the boat, but after a week the Prius still isn't empty. It is getting there, but a few items just haven't found their way on board. And the settee table and surrounding area still has stuff piled on it that has yet to find a home on the boat.

It seems most of the last couple days have been running to the local Dollar Tree and Target looking for storage containers that will fit in the various holds on the boat as well as fit the things we need to store in them. I hate having all these plastic boxes...but without them, the larger holds in the boat would undoubtedly resemble one of those toddler play ball pits, only with all our stuff piled in it.

The only thing I think we are doing right at the moment is inventorying everything as we store it. I have a giant provisioning spreadsheet that will not only track what food is aboard, but also all the other items too. In addition to recording what is on board, it also tells me where on board it is. It tracks the quantity of any given item based on the amount stored in each of 24 different storage locations on the boat. Hopefully this will at least help me remember what I have on board and, as importantly, where it is on board...and save me hours of digging through holds looking for something "I just know we have somewhere".

Now if all this stuff would go find it's own home and just let me know...I'd be set. Guess we had better get this done soon, as we are running out of time before we need to head north for the dreaded "H" season...and I do have a few items to attend to before we cast off.

4 comments:

Can't believe the year has gone so quickly. It doesn't seem that long ago that I was reading you about your adventures heading north for the last "H" season.Cataloging the storage areas is a great idea. The "where did I put that" is a frustrating situation. It is better to think you don't have an item rather than know that you do have but not be able to find it.

Here's another suggestion for keeping organized - keep a spreadsheet of commonly replaced items and their respective manufacturer and part numbers. Make sure it is accessible in your phone. Then if you ever find yourself in a store and they are having a sale, of you're ashore and suddenly remember you need some part for your engine, etc... You will have the data at your fingertips.

That's a good idea...and one I already started to implement after finding myself in exactly that situation a couple times. :-) The hard part seems to be getting the right part number...even the Westerbeke techs don't seem to know which parts go on my engines sometimes.

...That's the plan anyway

With no sailing experience and coming from a land-locked state, we intend to give up successful careers and embark on a more minimalistic and lower impact lifestyle living on a sailboat. Come along as we attempt to sail away from the rat race.

About Me

I'm an ex-software engineer living with my wife and two spoiled dogs. I hold a private pilots license and in the past owned a small, single engine aircraft. My wife and I are both PADI certified open water scuba divers.
When we started this sailing adventure, other than being passengers, we had no experience on a sailboat. We've taken sailing lessons through the ASA programs in both Colorado and Florida. In December 2013 we purchased our floating home, a 1999 Leopard 38, and in April of 2015 we sold our house and moved aboard.